Plastic Bags

I have an abundance of plastic bags. Ok, not any more, I tackled this problem and thank goodness! I wish I had a before picture to show you how awful my broom closet looked.  Just try to picture no room for anything, and a ton(about a million) plastic bags all crumpled up everywhere, and you are maybe close to how it looked!

This is what I have after the fact.  I have one big container for the broom closet, a glass jar for under the bathroom counter, and I have an old Lysol wipes container for down in the laundry room.  Looks great right!

Now to show you how I did it! It is super easy.  Remember making paper footballs in high school?  Well that is all we are going to do, just out of plastic bags instead of paper.  This took me quite a while to tackle them all the first time, but since has been so much easier for our busy life and really helps me feel less cluttered.  Way worth it in my opinion!!

 Lay your bag out flat, and push out all the air.

 Now fold it in half. Pushing the air out again.(when you do this by moving from the bottom towards the top, you don't want to pop a hole in your bag). I typically use them for garbage bags, holes make them unusable.

 Tuck the handles in!

 Fold in half once more!

 Start by turning one corner over, to make a triangle, keep going in the pattern until you get to the top of the bag.

 Now that you are almost to the top, you are going to fold the last part into the top of the triangle.  Make sure you stop when one of your triangles bottoms is up that way you have something to tuck the end into!

All done!  Now just put in some wonderful Tupperware containers and you have them all nice and neat for much easier storage!

 I can now enjoy my nice clean broom closet!

The Little Things

Some days, OK most days, it is all about the little things.  All too often we get caught up in the bad that has happened that day or that moment, and we let it ruin our day, and our lives.  Am I looking at the little things? We have been sick quite a bit this winter.  With sick little ones that require extra attention, and with a sick mommy running low on energy it seems to not take much to "ruin" my day.  My motto for today specifically, but all from now on will be: What are the little things?

When I say What are the little things, I am NOT talking about the little things that can seem to ruin my whole day or run my patience dry. But rather, what are the little things that I love, what are the little things that make(made) me smile, what are the little things my children have accomplished or done today.  What are all THESE little things, all these wonderful little things given to me each and every day, and often several times a day.

So, what are my little things?  Today they are many and I'm sure I cannot list them all but it has done wonders for my attitude to remember them through out the morning.

My little things are:
The way my snuggle bug(Athaiah) climbs up into my lap asking to just be rocked.
Elijah calling his sister his sweet girl and asking if she needs anything.
Sharing and playing so nice with their barn and the animals that go with.
Their energy level, even while sick.
The baby's love of snuggle time, and her new interest in big girl food.
When Elijah hurt Athaiah(partially an accident) Athaiah pulls out her Bible and tell him "see brother, be kind to one another" -Makes my mommy heart melt that they are learning, especially when they are disciplined.
Athaiah putting her bunny and baby on the couch and covering them up, kissing them, and telling them goodnight.  It makes me think of her a long way down the road and what a wonderful little mommy she will make!
Them running through the house singing songs. I love the sound of their voices singing in unison.
Playing basketball together-the whole time saying please and thank you while taking turns shooting baskets. And being great encouragers: when they miss they let the other sibling try again,and when they make a basket they break out in applause!

This is by no means a complete list, but it is some of the little things that have made my mommy heart smile this morning.  And with a night when I was up more than I was a sleep this is what I needed today.  I needed God's gentle reminder that even when my day may "seem" bad, He is there and His love is shinning through. He is with us and guiding us.  He is helping us grow up our children according to His word, and most of all HE is there helping me make it through the day-carrying me when necessary, and reminding me of all the little things!

Take the time today to look for your little things.  All those little blessings you have been given.

Remember: "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

(I know it isn't the best quality-it was taken via skype) But I love this picture of my family!

Elijah-3 year old

Mommy's little man is growing up.  He turned 3 today(well actually he turns 3 at 7:34 tonight but you know I guess we can say today.  It is surreal to think this time 3 years ago I was in the hospital waiting to have my little boy, our first born.  We were so excited we could barely stand it.  We had the bags packed and ready, full to the brim with all kinds of little boy clothes.  Greg was beaming and so excited that he was going to have a boy and we could barely contain our excitment in waiting for him to finally make his appearance.  He ended up coming that evening via C-section.  One of the most cherished moments of my life was getting to hold him and see him for the first time.

Now we see him growing into a little man.  His vocabulary is changing by the day and getting ever broader.  I am amazed by the things that come out of his mouth some days!  He is very inquisitive and always likes to know what we are doing and why.  He loves to read his Bible stories and learn his verses.  He loves to sing and play the drums(old coffee cans), and the piano.  If there is music playing in the house then he will dance around to the music or tap out the beat.  He is my little music man!  He loves music and the beats that go with.

He loves his "coffee"

Cars....need I say more.  This little man's world revolves around cars.  Every nap time and bed time he must have at LEAST 2 cars in his hands to sleep with. He will sit by the hour and play parking lot. (A game his daddy taught him) He loves this!  He has taught Athaiah how to play with him and he is always giving Avery cars because he wants her to learn how to play!

He loves his sisters!  He would do anything for them.  He is my kind and compassionate boy.  If one of them starts crying he immediately runs over to them and says "hello sweet girl, it is ok, I love you.  Are you going to be ok? Yes, you are going to be ok, we will make it all better."  Nothing sweeter than hearing your rough little boy speak so sweet and lovingly to his sisters.

He is rough, like most little boys.  He loves to wrestle and run and just have fun. Racing cars or boxes or whatever he can find is always good for entertainment.  He loves to go down the big slides at the park and climb up by himself.  He is starting to be more and more independent.  Where has my little baby gone?

He also loves to pretend.  He runs around the house fighting dragons, building towers, and making food in his kitchen.  He is a boy of many talents and interests.  He is not afraid to play babies with his sisters or help his mommy in the kitchen.  He also loves to help clean up around the house. I'm telling you-one day ladies he is going to make a great husband!

7 Months Old

My baby is 7 months old today....where has time gone? I know I say this all the time but I just can't believe that she is over 6 months old now. Getting closer to her being a year old and I just can't even imagine her more than my "little" baby.  On another note-my first baby will be 3 in a week(that makes me feel old!)
Here are some recent pictures of my cute little monkey!

 On Christmas morning opening(eating) her stocking.

 In her big girl outfit.

 She would only smirk for me this day...

At the zoo with the goats!

She is a little over 25" long now(still a bit of a shorty), and is over 18 lbs!  She can say hi and dada. She can sit pretty well by herself, although she is very uncomfortable sitting without someone close by and will scream if you walk away and leave her sitting by herself.  It is kind of cute!  

She loves her big brother and he is always begging to hold and snuggle her.  She squeals and giggles every time she sees him.  When she sees her big sister sometimes she cries and sometimes she gets so excited and the slobbers all over her face(aka giving her kisses).  

Her big sister adores her and is always begging to hold her and snuggle her as well, often leaving the two older ones fighting over who gets to love on her first.  Which for me, is amazingly cute that they love each other so very much!  

We have been blessed with 3 children that love each other so much and help each other out with everything daily.  We have a ton of fun and cannot wait to see where the next couple of months lead us in this little ones life and watching her grow!  We pray she will grow to know the Lord and will have a kind and compassionate heart.  We are truly blessed by you little girl.  We love you!

Play Kitchen

We decided that we wanted to give the kids a play kitchen this year for Christmas, but that a new one was slightly out of our budget.  After looking at all the fun ideas on Pinterest we decided we would just make one! And we love a good project around here.

Before! 

We found this entertainment center at a garage sale for $15.

After!

We spent a total of $20 on this, doesn't get much better than that!

We had so much fun making this..

First, we sanded it down a bit, then primed it!

We painted all the pieces the colors that we wanted.  We picked Red since we had an abundance of it left over from painting another room in our house.  We used grey for the appliance to look like stainless steel appliances.

We used an extra cabinet door handle for the "oven door handle" For the oven and burner knobs we used some of our old cabinet door knobs.

 Inside the oven.. The oven rack is just a cookie cooling rack!

 The front of the kitchen.

For the kitchen sink, we used a cake pan from the dollar store.  For the faucet and the handles we used old PVC pipe.  We then spray painted them silver. We paid 75 cents for the faucet.  

To insert the kitchen sink we just cut a small hole in the entertainment center and then glued it to the sides so that it would stay put.

For the burners we used old outlet covers and painted them black(these were 25 cents at the Reuse It Center).

We made the kids aprons so they have some to wear when they are playing!

  Side with the oven mitts...

We are super excited to give this to the kiddos this Christmas.  Since they are both so helpful in the kitchen and love everything about cooking.  I'm so excited to see them open this at Christmas time!

Not my plans...

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord" Jeremiah 29:11a.

This verse is ringing true for me today(yesterday, ok always, but especially recently)! A great reminder and promise that even when I do NOT know the plans HE does, and HE has it all under control.  I need to make sure that my DAILY plans line up with HIS and NOT mine!

The kiddos have been grumpy since daylight savings time.  They are waking up earlier and still going to bed at the same time.  Their naps are pretty much non existent.  Needless to say this makes for looong days, lots of correction, lots of snuggles, and a WHOLE HEAP of patience.  And while mommy is lacking on sleep patience some days, change that- some moments, patience can be hard to come by.

After getting everyone ready and dressed, we load up in the van...click, click, click. No this is not the sound of all the car seat buckles, but rather the sound the car is making.  No nice Vroom noise, just a bunch of clicks-ugh dead battery!  I call my husband to have him listen to the noise over the phone and confirm what I thought may be the problem(I know nothing about cars, so to guess right equals big time score for me!)

Sigh...unload all the kiddos.  Athaiah is screaming "No shopping, I go shopping." Note-she is all girl, can you tell? Elijah say "It needs new batteries." Which is his standard saying for what is wrong if something is broken, but yes son, today you are definitely correct.  The van needs a new battery. Another sigh, then the verse from above pops into my head. My plans for today must have been my own. I ask semi out loud, "then what are your plans today/

The two little ones run ahead, while I lag behind hauling the heavy car seat, and kind of dragging my feet because MY plans have been changed.  I tend to be a creature of habit and don't usually like sudden changes.  Although, these sweet children have definitely taught me to be more flexible.  Finally, we all make it back to the front door and battle with the dog to make it inside the house.  Athaiah immediately starts to rub her eyes so hard I think they might fall out.  She goes and gets her blanket, paci, and lulley and tell me she wants to rock.  Not 2 minutes later she is asleep.  Elijah is playing quietly with cars. My house is peaceful!

Ahhh God, now I know.  You had plans for peace today! Much better than my plan of grumpy kids and staying busy running errands, that (if truth be told) can wait until the weekend.  What a relief to know that His plans are always better than mine.  We had a quiet peaceful morning, Athaiah got an 1.5 hour nap...as you can guess this severely altered her disposition making her a happy girl, rather than one that screams all day.  And  let me tell you, this girl can scream!

What a wonderful reminder, and promise.  As I go about my day I need to consistently remember He knows my plans.  I need to make sure that I am following His plans for my life and not my own.  I am excited to see what this week holds-with one car we will be staying home all day every day this week.  It may just be the wonderful break in life we were looking for.

Recliner Redo

When I was pregnant with Athaiah we got this wonderful recliner.  It truly is wonderful, it is big and comfy.  It just had a hole in the side arm rest and was the wrong color.  But when has that ever stopped me.  That just means it will become a project at a later date right? Well the later date has arrived and now it goes perfectly in the basement!

To recover this we bought a set of queen size red sheets that were on sale for $9. (We bought the recliner for $10), this means this project was $20 and a very well spent $20(rounding up here people, I promise I can do math!) at that.  It is one of my favorite seats in the house, not only does it recline, but it also rocks. Perfect in this house filled with small children who love to climb into laps for story time, or just for some good old fashioned rockin'!

What you will need:
Old Recliner
Queen size sheets(clearance preferred to keep cost down)
staple gun and staples(a lot of staples)
Extra batting if you feel it is needed(we used extra in the arm rests)

Ok it is a bit hard to explain, but we started with the fitted sheet, we cut all the corners and trimmed off all the elastic. Easy enough!

Next we took the recliner apart, top off, and the arm rest removed.

Then, we just laid it over top of the back of the recliner, stapling and pulling it super tight as we went. (Make sure it is centered so you have plenty left to wrap over the front. We started stapling along the bottom(as you can see below), and then worked our ways up the sides and eventually over the back.  Also, for positioning purposes, we laid the fabric out super straight on the ground and then laid the top on it, wrapping one end around to staple.

Flip it over and continue to straighten everything out, pulling tight and using lots of staples!

*before front was stapled

*After front was stapled

For the bottom half of the chair we put it in the up position(legs up) and started at the bottom. Make sure you take the lever off first!

Make sure this is centered because this will also wrap around the arms and down the sides.  Make sure to pull it tight and staple as you go. (We didn't remove the old fabric, we just put everything on top of it). This project also involved no sewing!! YEAH!  Now pull it tight. I know I keep saying that but it is important that it is pulled tight everywhere.  Wrap it around the arm rests and down the sides, and staple all along the bottom. Staple well! There is no such thing as too many staples in this project.

*Bottom before the arm rests were attached

 

For the arm rests, we used one pillow case for each arm-handy enough right?! We filled the arm rests up with some extra batting we had lying around just for some extra cushion.  Then we pulled it tight(LOL) and stapled it all up so it was closed.  Do this for both pieces.  Now to attach it to the chair.  Staple away my friends.  Just make sure it looks nice and neat and you will be all set! We did this all by looking, no real pattern or directions, just a lot of pulling fabric around everything, and lots and lots of staples from our staple gun!

Now just put the chair back together.  We cut a small hole in the fabric where the lever came from so we could attach it back on.  Oh yeah...for the lever we just took off the old fabric and there happened to be a nice plastic lever underneath.  We had planned to recover it or to paint it, but turned out it needed nothing, SCORE! So lever goes, back on the bottom, the arm rests are already back on, and then put the top back on the bottom.  Close up any loose seams that may need stapled up last minute. and you are done!

This took us an afternoon during nap time to complete.  My wonderful husband helped me with this project, he is great at fixing things and being my other half and helping me come up with my wonderful, crazy ideas that have no pattern! Looks pretty good-what do you think?